About Last Night: Johnny Mathis's Final Performance

And I was there

Hello Friends,

I wasn’t planning on writing another newsletter so soon, but I just had to share my thoughts about what I witnessed last night.

In my January issue of Between Flights, I told you about my history with Johnny Mathis — what a fan I was, and what a special experience it was getting to sing with him.

Last night was Johnny’s final live performance. On March 27, his team announced that he was ending his concert tour early “because of age and memory loss.” Johnny is 89 and will turn 90 this September. His final concert was scheduled for Sunday, May 18 at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ. As soon as I heard the news, I checked my schedule and was thrilled to know I would be free, after closing my 54 Below run the night before.

I wrote to Amy, Johnny’s PR director, to see if she could help me purchase seats for Dan and me. She told me that, actually, I was already on her list of people to contact, and she had set aside three comps in case Nicholas could come, too. I was very touched.

We got to the venue early for a pre-concert reception, and then were ushered into the theatre for a special video presentation. The video included messages from his colleagues and friends including Barbra Streisand, Patti LaBelle, Lionel Richie, Deniece Williams, Barry Manilow, and Clive Davis. And then there was a slide show of photos of Johnny from his seven-decade career. Midway through, I froze—there was a photo of me singing “Chances Are” with Johnny in Vancouver in 2014!

This isn’t the photo they used, but the only one I could find on my computer that was close

I can’t tell you how surprised and honored I was to have been included. Singing with him at that private event was one of the biggest thrills of my life.

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I was nervous for Johnny—what would it be like to know this was your final time singing for people? Would the moment overwhelm him?

Throughout the two-act concert, he’d say, “I hope I get this one right.” And yet, he sang at least 30 songs—with only a couple of missed lyrics. It was extraordinary how decades of music were still there, still alive in him.

It was a thrill to hear Johnny sing with a full orchestra, alongside his longtime musicians, including pianist/conductor Scott Lavender (35 years!), whom I’ve gotten to know over the years. He played so beautifully.

In Act One we were treated to many of his earlier hits including “Chances Are,” “Wonderful! Wonderful!,” “It’s Not for Me to Say,” “Wild Is the Wind,” songs from Kismet, and Dan’s favorite, “Misty.” When it came time for his iconic floating “oooooooooooooooooon my own”, Dan, Nicholas, and I held hands. He ended the act with a medley of Henry Mancini songs, finishing with “Moon River.” Johnny’s rendition of “Moon River” has a big ending, jumping the octave —I held my breath. Could he do it? He did—he nailed it! It was like watching an Olympic gymnast in the final event of their career, stick the landing for a perfect 10!

At intermission, I caught up with Norm Lewis and composer Marc Shaiman, who had both kindly invited me to the concert. Norm, like me, had the great honor of singing a duet with Johnny.

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Act Two featured several songs with his wonderful guitarist, Kerry Marx, including a gorgeous version of “You and Me Against the World,” “99 Miles from L.A.,” and “Brazil.” Johnny’s voice seemed to get stronger with every song!

After he finished “Brazil,” he took his bows and left the stage. He came back, and turned to Scott, who reminded him he had one more song to sing. He handed Johnny a folder with a lyric sheet—the only song he used lyrics for.

His final song was “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Tears were streaming down my face as he sang it—his voice was so beautiful, so strong. And it felt like he was singing those gorgeous lyrics to each and every one of us.

It was the perfect ending—of the concert, of his 70+ years of singing for us.

I didn’t take any photos or videos during the concert. I just wanted to experience it. I won’t need them to remind me of this night in the future—I’ll never forget it. Writing this will help, too.

Thanks for reading,

xoxo Liz

P.S. Thank you to everyone who came to 54 Below last week or livestreamed my Stephen Schwartz show on Saturday night. I’m happy to have a few weeks off to recover until my June concerts in Seattle, Chicago, and Pasadena.